Halloween is tomorrow and this year I'm off to a party. 

Instead of thinking about my costume, I thought about what sweet treats would be great to make and take along. That's when I remembered seeing some cute Ghost meringues on the Meringue Girls Instagram last week and thought it would be fun to make them.

These girls are great and, their meringues are divine. Move over cupcakes as these are the best sweet treat right now!

You will need:

Piping bags - Lakeland disposable ones are great

200g caster sugar 

100g free-range egg whites (3-4 eggs). 

*I used Two Chicks liquid egg whites which is what the Meringue Girls use*
Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Line a small, deep tray with baking parchment, pour in the caster sugar and heat it in the oven until the sugar is just beginning to melt at the edges. Heating the sugar helps to create a glossy, stable mixture. 

Pour the egg whites into a mixer and whisk them slowly, allowing small stabilising bubbles to form, then increase the speed until the egg whites form stiff peaks.

Take the sugar out of the oven. With your mixer on full speed, slowly spoon the hot sugar into the beaten egg whites, making sure the mixture comes back up to stiff peaks after each addition of sugar. 

Once you have added all the sugar, continue to whisk on full speed for five to seven minutes.

Feel a bit of the mixture between your fingers; if you can still feel the gritty sugar, keep whisking at full speed until it has dissolved and the mixture is smooth, stiff and glossy.

*IMPORTANT - at this point, turn your oven down to 100C*

Next, grab a tall drinking glass and place your piping bag inside it - this will help you spoon the meringue mixture into it without any mess. Half fill the bag with mixture and cut the tip of the bag off.

Line a baking tray with baking paper. To get the 'Ghost' shape, you need to swirl the meringue mixture.
Then, pop them in the oven for an hour until they're set and lift easily off of the baking tray.
When they've cooled, get some black food colouring and a brush, and draw eyes and a mouth on each one. So you end up with something like this:

Easy, peasy and so yummy with a cup of tea!

This is the easiest recipe you will come across and, it's quite healthy as well.

All you need is a couple of Parsnips, Sunflower Oil and some salt.

Once the oil is hot enough (you need it REALLY hot) place a small handful of the peelings into the pan. They should start sizzling immediately.

Leave them in there for a few minutes, or until they are crisp and golden.

Place some kitchen towel on the chopping board and with a slotted spoon, scoop the parsnips out of the oil and onto the board. Leave to cool.

Keep chucking the peelings into the oil until you don't have anymore.

Once they've cooled down, place them in a sandwich bag with a pinch or two of salt and shake it like a polaroid picture.

I'm currently tucked up in the flat with the dreaded lurgy which, gives me the perfect excuse to research lot's of yummy, comforting recipes ready for the Winter months. 

For me soups and chowders are one of the most comforting dinners - they're filling and, if you make enough they're great for lunch the next day. 

I've only ever had Chowder when eating out but I thought I would give it a try at home and as it turns out, it's really easy. 

Ingredients (serves 4)

Cut the haddock into bite-sized pieces and add to the pan. Cook very gently for 6 minutes, then add the prawns, lemon juice and pepper.
Cook for a further 2 minutes then serve. If you have any fresh, crusty bread with a smidge of butter use that to mop up the dregs at the bottom of your bowl.